Assembly for driving clutches and the like and method of making the same



Jan. 5, 1943; w c 2,307,456 v ASSEMBLY FOR DRIVING CLUTCHES AND THE IIKE AND METHOD OF MAKING'THESAME Original Filed March 18,- 1937 INVENTORv 7/70/7721 41 2/1/24- v A g, Y

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 5, 1943 ASSEMBLY FOR DRIVING CLUTCHES AND THELIKE AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Thomas L. Fawick, Akron, Ohio,assignor to The Fawick General Company, Inc., Akron, Ohio, a corporationof Indiana Original application March 18, 1937, Serial No.

131,656. Divided and this application November 13, 1940, Serial No.365,490

- 8 Claims. (Cl. 192-88) This invention relates to assemblies suitableprimarily for use as driving clutches, although some of its features areapplicable also to flexible couplings and brakes, and to methods ofmaking them. The present application is a division of my co-pending.application Serial No. 131,656, filed March 18, 1937, upon whichIgnited States Patent 'No. 2,251,444 issued on August 5,

' or a brake, to provide for quick engagement and disengagement; toprovide for dependable complete disengagement although the range ofengaging and disengaging movement is very short;

to provide torque-transmitting means of great strength and at the sametime adapted tocushion the action of the assembly; to provide improvedtorque-transmitting means adapted to compensate for shaft misalignmentwithout undue resistance; to provide for effective dissipation of suchfrictional heat as may be generated; and to provide for lightness ofparts, economy of construction and facility of replacement of parts.

Of the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section of an assembly embodying my presentinvention in its preferred form.

Fig. 2 is -a fragmentary elevation of parts shown in Fig. 1, as viewedfrom the right of that figure, a part being broken away to show internalstructure. 7

' Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section of parts shown in Fig. 1, on a largerscale. 1

Fig. 4 is a similar section illustrating a slightly different form ofpneumatic torque-transmitting member and associated parts.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating .the preferred method ofmaking the rubber bag of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6-6 of Fig. 5. Referring to the assemblyshown in Fig. 1, it comprises a transmission shaft 5 having a clutch hubmember 6 straight-splined upon it, although this is not essential.

fly-wheel 8, although it also is not indispensible. A'metal ring 9,formed with an annular clutch engaging face providing a mate for asimilar face formed on the fiy-wheel, is secured to the fiy-wheel 8 byscrew bolts [0, l0 and this ring as shown in the present embodiment isformed also with through passages through an off-set peripheral portion,these passages being defined by outwardly curved webs or bridge piecesII, II which can be integral with the rest of the ring as shown, toprovide a centrifugal fan efiect for drawing air and worn particles fromthe frictionallyengaging faces of the assembly and dis charging them atthe outer periphery of the fly= wheel, for carrying away such frictionalheat as may be developed and for keeping the frictio faces and thebearing clean.

The arcuate clutch-facing plates, l2, l2, those of the two setspreferably being in staggered relation, are secured by rivets l3, l3, ofwhich the bases are vulcanized'in the opposite walls of an annulardisc-like rubber bag 15, which can have either radial or oblique cordreinforcement,

M, the inner peripheral portion of the bag, as'

with an extremely thin air chamber within it,

as by building it about a ring of waxed paper,

which can be left within it.

' conduit formed in the transmission shaft, for

A pilot hearing I also is shown between-the transmission shaft and thehub of the motor 55 lfacings to the clutch hub through an axiallyalternatively applying fluid pressure and suction to the interior of thebag. l

Preferably the bag has a ring of sheet metal I9 cn'mpeii uponits outerperiphery, to sustain centrifugal force and prevent undesirabledeformation of the bag under that force or under the force of internalfluid pressure.

In the operation of the assembly the clutch is engaged by; conductingpressure fluid into the bag l5 through the pipe J8 and thus distendingthe bag axially, and disengaged by venting the fluid. from the bag, andpermissibly by applying suction to the interior of the bag, through thepipe l8.

The engaging faces are so disposed as to be effectively cooled by thefan action of the webs I I, and the torque is transmitted from theclutch flat annular zone of the bag which is adapted to transmit thetorque somewhat in the manner of a fabric universal-Joint disc.

In the bag assembly shown in Fig. 4 the construct nis substantially thesame as in Figs. 1 and 3 except that the body of the bag, containing thecord reinforcements, is mold-vulcanized upon a thin annular metal plate,from which it is then stripped or unbuttoned, so to speak, after cuttingthrough its wall to the edge face of the plate in case of completeenclosure of the plate by the bag material, after which it is sealed atits outer margin, with or without an application of rubber cement, bycrimping thereon a ring of sheet metal 20, this type of bag beingadapted to be built economically by any one of several methodsalreadyknown to those skilled in the rubber art.

In Figs. 5 and 6 the'metal plate or mandrel employed for keeping theinner faces of the bag separated during its vulcanization is shown at 21and the sections of the vulcanizing mold are shown at 22 and 23. Aftervulcanization of the bag in the mold the bag is removed from the latter,is cut through from its outer peripheral faceto the metal plate 2| as bymeans of a knife 25, throughout the circle of the outer periphery of thebag, after which the plate 2| is removed from the bag by stretching anddeformation of the rubber of the bag, and the cut faces of the bag arethen sealed to each other as described in the last preceding paragraph.

Such frictional heat as is developed is generated only at the surface 0fa metal member which is of high heat capacity and consequently asoa eccand to be unconfined and freely flexing in service and havingsubstantially the characteristics of vulcanized soft rubber.

3. In combination with a pair of shafts mounted in series and subject tomisalignment, a

torque-transmitting assembly comprising a relatively rotary structurehaving a pair of engagement surfaces disposed transversely with relationto the axis of rotation, a fluid distensible structure adapted to engageboth of said surfaces upon being distended and to withdraw from both ofthem in retracting, and means for conducting pressure fluid to saiddistensible structure to distend it, said distensible structure'comprising a one-piece'bag having, throughout an annular zone thereof,a portion so mounted as to sustain all of the torque and to be'unconfined and freely flexing in service and having substantially thecharacteristics of vulcanized soft rubber.

4. An assembly comprising a relatively rotary member having anengagement surface disposed transversely with relation to the axis ofrotation,

is adapted to conduct the heat away effectively.

I claim:

1. In combination with a pair of shafts mounted in series and subject to"misalignment, a torque-transmitting assembly comprising a relativelyrotary member having an engagement surface disposed transversely withrelation to the axis of rotation, a fluid-distensible structure adaptedto engage said surface upon being distended, and means for conductingpressure fluid to said structure to distend it, said structure having,throughout an annular zone thereof, a portion'so mounted as to sustainall of the torque and to be unconfined and freely flexing in service andhaving substantially the characteristics of vulcanized soft rubber.

2. In combination with a pair of shafts mount-- ed in series and subjectto misalignment, a torque-transmitting assembly comprising a rela- 1'tively rotary structure having a pair of engagethroughout an annularzone thereof, -a disc-like portion so mounted as to sustain all of thetorque a fluid-distensible structure adapted to engage said surface uponbeing distended, andmeans for drel,- a fluid-distensible bag having alongitu-.

dinal slit in its outer peripheral wall and sealing said slit by bendinginto clamping relation upon the outer periphery of the bag a metal ringadapted to serve as a retaining ring against centrifugal force in therotation of the bag.

'7. An assembly comprising a fluid-distensible bag having a bodyportion' having substantially the characteristics of soft-vulcanizedrubber and a base portion having substantially the characteristics ofhard-vulcanized rubber, the base portion having dowel means projectingtherefrom, and base-clamping means interlocked with said dowel means.

8. The method of making a fluid-distensible A clutch' structure whichcomprises molding of from and having substantially the characteristicsof hard-vulcanized rubber, and then applying base-clamping means to saidbase portion in interlocked relation to said dowel means.

THOMAS L. FAWICK.

and sealing said slit by

